CWCHS Cheerleaders gearing up for competition

Thursday

Jan 3, 2013 at 5:15 PM

Being good at something is great, but maintaining that level of competency is admirable. Six seniors lead a group of 12 total cheerleaders at Carmi-White County High School this season in a squad that was recently recognized for their skills with a second place finish at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.

Tammy Knox

Being good at something is great, but maintaining that level of competency is admirable. Six seniors lead a group of 12 total cheerleaders at Carmi-White County High School this season in a squad that was recently recognized for their skills with a second place finish at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.

The competition at the 48th annual tournament included all squads from 16 schools in the region. The teams were graded on tumbling, stunting, cheers, sideline chants, opening cheer and starting lineup performance. A panel of judges tallied scores over the three-day event, which brought the best to the top, including CWCHS.

"I haven't received the score sheets yet from the judges," said Lacey Moore, coach of the CWCHS winter squad. "They did a great job and I'm glad they were able to show their skills and were rewarded for their hard work heading into the tournament."

Cheerleading took on a different format for the 2012-2013 year at CWCHS. Tryouts were held for cheerleading during the football season with a scaled down squad. Then, additional tryouts were held in late October to determine the winter squad that would also compete in competitions as well as lead the crowd at basketball games and other special events.

"We really have a talented team this year," said Moore. "I hope the recognition they received at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament is just the beginning of the accolades to come for them. They have been working on their stunts, cheers and tumbling since the first of November, so they are ready for competition."

The 12-girl squad heads to Benton Saturday, Jan. 5 for the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association (ICCA) regional. The event begins at 10 a.m. and the CWCHS squad is set to take the mat at 10:56 a.m.

"The girls will perform a program that includes a cheer, a dance, tumbling and stunting," said Moore. "They will use music that I had specially prepared for their routine. Hopefully, on Saturday, this team will qualify for the ICCA State Tournament."

Those teams selected to advance will move to the state competition Feb. 9 and 10 at Springfield. The competition is not restricted to school size, only squad size. The CWCHS squad will compete in the small varsity division, which includes 12 girls or less.

In addition to the all-squad competition, the stunt team will compete Sunday, Jan. 13 at Highland High School. From that tournament, the top teams will also advance to the state level, which is also set for the Springfield tournament Feb. 9 and 10.

To assist the program and to promote cheerleading, CWCHS will host the second annual Cheer for a Cure at the high school Saturday, Feb. 23. The competition begins at 10 a.m. and will include entries from squads in the tri-state region with proceeds benefiting cancer. The event was originally slated for the fall around Breast Cancer Awareness Month but was moved to February to accommodate schedules and participation by more schools for the event.

The 2012 squad is led by seniors Hannah Gowdy, Kenley Masterson, Dayna Burnett, Bailey Bratcher, Arwen Aylsworth and Sara Wilson. Other members of the squad include Alex Bowles, Adrian Lamp, Madison Cox, Carlie Gee, Macy Pesavento and Cheyenne Mann. Many of members of the cheerleading squad are multi-sport athletes, competing in track, basketball, tennis, softball, golf and volleyball in addition to their dedication to cheerleading.

Coach Moore, whose maiden name is Kosikowski, was also a multi-sport athlete while attending CWCHS. She was a cheerleader both in high school and in college at University of Southern Indiana. She is currently in her sixth year as coach of the CWCHS squad. She and her husband, Bill, have one daughter, Brinkley, who is nine months old and William, who is two. The Moore family and reside in Evansville, Ind. where Bill works as the Profit Center Manager at CED Superior Electric.

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